Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may have a range of uses such as reconnaissance planes and combat-ready sensor and weapons platforms. A UAV may launch and execute a mission by flying to one or more points of interest along a predefined route. An operator may load the points of interest, including launch and landing location into the UAV, as a mission flight plan that the operator develops using a flight planner or ground control station with a graphical user interface. The flight path of the UAV may be tracked on a map.